Cordon and Charcoal visit Shining Servant
After a good night's sleep, Charcoal and Cordon feel ready to go. Shining Servant agrees to see them after noon devotions, so it's about an hour later that finds the two unicorns in front of the - dare I say it - ostentatious Cathedral of Celestia's Glory. Shining Servant herself meets the two unicorns at the door. She is a tall earth pony, golden-flanked with blazing hair that reminds you of that Wonderbolt, Spitfire. Her cutie mark is a golden circle surrounded by sunbeams, and brings to mind the dawn. "Ah'm told y'all bring urgent news," she greets. "Urgent's a good way of putting it. Really, really, really bad would be better," Charcoal started babbling away almost immediately, as was usual for him, though this time around, worry was clear in his face. "You see, we were hired by those zebras in the caravan, because somepon- ... somezebra's cousin had been kidnapped by evil lizard people. So we went after those lizards to save her. Then it turned out that those lizards are of a species that was supposed to be extinct since Discord's times. And then it turned out they had a giant temple that is older then Celestia's reign, with a giant sunbeam-laser firing orb on top. We destroyed that though, so that's alright. But inside the temple, we found an ancient text mentioning Celestia fighting someone called Tirek. Even though that place had been built before she ruled. I think time travel is involved." He stopped for a moment, not sure if he wanted to really say what he had found. "And... well... one of the lizards was using divine magic. By that point, we already knew that they worshipped the sun, and had done so long before Celestia was around. But then... well, we found this holy symbol on him." From his saddlebags, Charcoal levitated the small disk, trying to let as few people see it as possible. "We need information. On Tirek, on whatever those lizards worship, and whatever else you might possibly know about this." Shining Servant visibly pales. "Come inside," she whispers. "Not here." Once inside the temple, she gestures to a novice, an adorable little pegasus filly colored dark blue. "Free Will, go tah the Temple of Luna and fetch Peaceful Passing. Wake her if you need tah." The little filly's eyes go wide, and she speeds off, scattering papers in her wake. Surprisingly, Shining Servant makes no effort to pick them up, instead tapping a hoof nervously. A quarter hour later, a stately unicorn with her mane cut in a fashion slavishly similar to Luna's strides into the temple. "You called, priestess of my princess' sister?" "This concerns yeh, Peace; yeh and Luna. Kindly stow tah overly-formal attitude," Shining Servant says, leading the three of you down a winding series of stairs to a cavern deep below the cathedral. The only light is illumination from Peaceful Passing's horn, a strange thing indeed to find in a temple of the Sun Goddess. On the trip down, she repeats your story to Peaceful Passing, whose haughty expression turns bleaker and grimmer the more she goes on. Finally, the cavern widens, and a thick brick wall is visible in the light. A series of murals is etched on it. "Here," Shining Servant says. "Before Celestia, there was Darkness over Equestria. Tirek - so vile tha' for him we have nah epithet - ruled." She gestures to the first image, where a horned, demonic centaur-like being stands watch over a herd of ponies, griffins, and dragons, who all bow to him. The next mural shows an alicorn blasting the Tirek creature with a wave of light. "Finally his tyranny became so great that Equestria herself acted. Born as a mortal pony in the form of the first alicorn, Faust, Equestria created the Rainbow of Light and banished Tirek to the Shadow Realm." Peaceful Passing takes up the story as the ponies reach the next mural, where a demonic pair of eyes is surrounded by whirling darkness. "But Tirek was only banished. In the Shadow Realm, he created the Rainbow of Darkness, a corrupting influence that turned all it touched to evil. Nothing could resist its corrupting power." Shining Servant's gaze suddenly becomes a perceptive stare, and in the darkness, Peaceful Passing looks very much like Luna. "Nothing and no one," the unicorn whispers. It is a moment before she continues. "When he returned, Tirek sought to corrupt all Equestria to his image. A last alliance of the pony races - for this was before the first Hearth's Warming, and they remained apart - resisted. With some help from other mythic creatures, they called forth the damaged Rainbow of Light and overcame Tirek's power, banishing him again." Here, the image shows several earth ponies, a unicorn and a pegasus, along with a strange, two-legged creature that is clearly not a hobgoblin, blasting Tirek with light again. Shining Servant takes up the story. "But it is the nature of ponies to forget our history, and to our shame, we did. Many years later - around the time that temple you found is likely from - Tirek returned. By this time, the Rainbow of Light had long been missing, and we had not yet found the Elements of Harmony which one day called it back forth." "So once again, the three nations came together, in a temple far from any pony's civilization, and called forth aid from beyond. Once, they recalled, an divine alicorn had come to save them. Once, she banished Tirek. This time, they hoped, she would destroy the Darkness forever." She gestures to the next panel, which shows a unicorn, a pegasus, and an earth pony kneeling to the same stylized figure of Celestia raising the Sun. Atop the image are the words you read in the temple: "Ave Imperatrix Solaris! Ultima ratio regum — defendere equestria patria contra umbras Tirecus. Surgit! Surgit! Surgit! Ave Caelestibus!" "Hail the Solar Empress! The last resort of the Kings to defend Equestria against the shadow of Tirek. She rises! She rises! She rises! Hail Celestia!" The next image shows the Princess channeling the sun's fury through some kind of orb-like amplifier, and then through a portal, much like the one you saw in the temple. Perhaps even the same one. "We thought him destroyed forever," Shining Servant says. Peaceful Passing shook her head. "But he was not. When Luna travelled to the Plane of Shadow many, many years later, she found remnants of his power. They called to her. She tried to warn her sister." Peaceful Passing shakes her head. "Celestia would not listen. So Luna thought to show her. And we were without our Princess for a thousand years because of it." "How do you know this, Peace?" Shining Servant wonders, quietly. "You know how, Shiny," Peaceful Passing murmurs. "I have served the Princess of the Night for as long as I have lived. I am thankful that she is now herself again, free of the Shadow of Tirek..." she trails off. "The lizardfolk were sun-worshippers before Celestia controlled it, but they were never this savage. If they have joined forces with the hobgoblins, and the dragons too... it could mean that Tirek's shadow is alive and working in this world." Cordon gives the Lunar priestess a thoughtful glance. "When I saw what the lizard-men were doing I did wonder if that was it's purpose. I'm not a pony of much mystic power, but a dark ritual to take control of your hated enemy... to not only defeat her but make her do your bidding. It'd be the icing on the cake," he says, pondering as he does so. "Although it kind of boils down to a theological debate: is such a thing possible?" he asks looking at the two holy mares. Shining Servant says "No!" at the same time Peaceful Passing says "Yes." They glare at each other, and Peaceful Passing backs down. "Take control, no. That is, not even the Nightmare could have done it to Celestia. But corrupt... well, Nightmare Moon didn't just happen." So it was true after all, Charcoal thought. Something was corrupting Celestia, and giving her power to these creatures. And that something was Tirek's shadow. It had to be true. There simply was not other explanation. Nontheless, Charcoal found himself somewhat less worried, now that he knew this. There still was hope to save Celestia. "Well, I won't let that happen. If Tirek's Shadow is still somewhere out there, I'll personally find it and tear it into pieces. No way it's gonna corrupt anypony on my watch." "If it helps," Shining Servant puts in, "I don't think Celestia's been corrupted, just the lizardfolk. If Her Solar Majesty were corrupted by Tirek's shadow..." she trails off. "You'd notice," Peaceful Passing says flatly. "Briefly, anyway." "Before she would vaporize us all." Charcoal added to Peaceful's sentence, almost subconsciously. It took him a few seconds before he could continue. "Well, at least that means we have a clear goal again. Beat up goblins and lizards and bad people until one of them tells us where the shadow is, then go there and destroy it. Is there any other advice you can give us before we go?" "Seek whatever allies you can, and do not let your differences separate you," Peaceful Passing advises. Shining Servant nods. "Friendship is magic." Category:Lore Category:Bridle Category:Pony Deities